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Key Takeaways Hybrid work exposed a clarity problem, not a communication problem. It made it clear that when systems lack clear standards, employees interpret directions based on their own understanding.
Leadership success in the hybrid work era now depends on delivering clear direction instead of maintaining strict “authority.”
Start projects by defining the main problem, ask employees for next steps instead of just asking if they understand, and end each week with reflection.
The transition to hybrid work environments produced an unexpected communication issue that workers needed to solve in order to stay connected.
When offices closed due to the pandemic, most leaders focused on technology because the shift to hybrid work environments transformed employee work locations and organizational goal definitions. That created a leadership shortage. It extends past the quantitative metrics that track productivity and employee participation. It’s about clarity, and leaders who excel in this ability will establish the direction for leadership achievement during the upcoming decade.
Many leaders made a quick transition to technology solutions when offices shut down. The question they asked was about how to keep relationships, and not “Do we still understand what matters?“
Available tools operated correctly at the beginning of the process, and we saw video calls functioning as the main tool for conducting meetings and taking over the traditional practice of in-person meetings. Shared documents served as the digital equivalent of whiteboards, which people used to use in the past. The force no one could see started to break apart.
People exchanged more messages, yet their ability to understand each other stayed the same.
Hybrid work hadn’t created a communication problem. It had exposed a clarity one.
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